Verizon Wireless

[DebtHater]

you sign a contract - therefore you're obligated to that contract - whether it be a cell phone or satellite services, normally its a 2 year obligation with a fee if you break that contract before the time is up.

Just because you are obligated to a contract does not automatically make the company a creditor. If you account shows a $0 balance, how can they be? Once the bill arrives and they want their monthly (advance) payment there might be an argument. The contract outlines what you will owe if you break the contract. Again, this amount would not be owed unless this happens.


Does this mean that anyone that rents a house or other property is obligated to include the landlord in the BK? When you rent a house there is usually a lease. A lease is a contract.

At my time of filing I had credit cards with $0 balances that did not have to be notified/included. Why? There is a $0 balance! With that said they are not owed money. I have contracts with these creditors, right?

Let's take this one farther, if you did need to notify these entities of filing, what about your car insurance? House insurance? Medical insurance? Life insurance? These are all companies that you have contracts with too. Does this mean they need to be (hypothetically) notified? If yes, you might as well notify the corner news stand where you get your newspaper and the local grocery store where you do your shopping. Lets not forget the local bar where you might run up a tab for the evening. Ok, they last few you don't have contracts with but I think you can see where I'm going with it.

I was told that we had to notify all of our utilities and other services, even if they were not late, or past due they still needed to be notified of the BK.

We did not have to include or notify any of the above. Not the electric, water, garbage, cell phone or cable/internet/phone. Again, this was per my lawyer who is the one that wrote up and filed the petition (incidentally he is also a trustee in the local BK district). All of the above did need to be included in my Schedule J as monthly expenses, but that's it.

[bulletproof77]

Same here....

Me too...Didn't include them and never heard a peep out of them..And i sure wish MY cell phone bills were as inexpensive as the OP's..sigh..

[mrskal]

What if you want to get off your contract, and just get a monthly cheap type service? My thinking is, if I want to stay out of debt when this is all done, and live according to my means and save, I need to lose the $130 a month I pay for my phone. I figure, i really dont need internet or that garbage anyway, I just need a means of communication.

[Ann]

Why do some lawyers tell you to list your utilities as your creditors??? I listed all my utilities (lights, heat, cellphone, internet, water, trash disposal) as expenses and not as a creditor. Why if you didn't owe them or were not past due should that have been included?

[lorelei]

I did some writing about Chapter 11 (business) bankruptcies, and if I remember correctly, a bankruptcy allows both the filer AND the people/companies that hold contracts with the filer to void a contract. I don't know if that applies to Ch. 7 & 13, but if my understanding is correct, a company has the right to void a contract upon a bankruptcy filing.

I'm guessing that might not be so in the case of essential services, such a natural gas or electric utility cutting off heat in winter.

I guess cell phones aren't considered essential? (But my employer expects me to have one...)

[newbie2]

Why do some lawyers tell you to list your utilities as your creditors??? I listed all my utilities (lights, heat, cellphone, internet, water, trash disposal) as expenses and not as a creditor. Why if you didn't owe them or were not past due should that have been included?

It could be district to district. I'm in Michigan like you, and our attorney didn't list utilities or cell phone provider in our creditors matrix, just on expenses. She stated that they were not creditors, but services provided. (If we had been behind on utilities and wanting that discharged that would have been different.)

[helpmeout]

I didn't have to notify any of my utilities except the water/sewer. Those were the only ones I was past due on.

[987654]

I'm going to file Chapter 13, and currently have Verizon Wireless for our family (5 phones). Right now I'm a month behind + the current month will be due shortly, certainly before I file. If I don't get the bill caught up before I file and list them as creditors, as I'm obligated to do, will they cancel my plan/disconnect the phones?

I really don't want this to happen...I would like to keep the same numbers especially, and it's cheaper for us to have the plan than it would be to get 5 'pay as you go' phones. I've got three teenagers who text more than you can conceive of lol. Do I do whatever it takes to get caught up before I file or will they work with me? Thanks.

[DebtHater]

I've got three teenagers who text more than you can conceive of lol. Do I do whatever it takes to get caught up before I file or will they work with me? Thanks.

How much would it cost to get caught up? If it's not that much (a couple hundred $$$) you may be able to get away with it with out it being a preferential payment.

A possibility moving forward is cutting the bill down some. I do know how much a teenager can text. You have to ask yourself how much do they need to text? Mine text-ed very well (too well) and the necessity was non existent. As a result she no longer has the option to text!

[Fallonedward]

It could be district to district. I'm in Michigan like you, and our attorney didn't list utilities or cell phone provider in our creditors matrix, just on expenses. She stated that they were not creditors, but services provided. (If we had been behind on utilities and wanting that discharged that would have been different.)

I'm in Michigan too, did Verizon change your service over to a 02 as another individual posted? Just want to plan ahead and now what my options are